Christian Laspada
The 1980s were a powerhouse decade for horror movies and are often heralded as the peak of horror. The genre was revolutionized as slasher movies dominated, launching franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, and making the goriest of characters became household names. This was thanks, in part, to the rising popularity of home video, which enabled millions of viewers to watch R-rated horror films at home for the first time. 80s horror movies led to the birth of iconic characters, terrifying monsters, and gooey body horror scenes. The 80s also gave way to the blossoming of the niche subgenre of psychedelic horror, which brought mind-bending and heady nightmares to life.
Psychedelic cinema originated in the 1960s as part of the psychedelia movement. These films feature distorted visual imagery and experimental narratives and present a distorted reality resembling the effects of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic films flourished in the 60s and 70s as they reflected the decades’ political, social, psychological, and artistic expansion and transcendence. These themes were easily transferred to the horror genre as psychedelic elements enriched the abstract concepts of horror movies and visually portrayed the fear of the unknown. Psychedelic horror relies on novel editing, colorful imagery, and dream-like story progression to create terrifying experiences that make viewers feel uneasy and trippy. Psychedelic horror is still seen today in movies like Midsommar (2019) and Mandy (2018). Although the 60s and 70s are recognized as the zenith for psychedelic horror, the genre still thrived in the 80s as it broke through the noise of slasher movies, and produced mind-altering artistic viewing experiences that take viewers on bizarre trips to the bleakest caverns of depravity. These are some of the hallmarks of 1980s psychedelic horror.
Altered States (1980)
The 1980 science fiction horror film Altered States is a masterclass in 80s psychedelic horror. Starring William Hurt, Blair Brown, and Bob Balaban, the story follows a troubled scientist, Edward Jessup, determined to unlock different states of consciousness by combining sensory deprivation with hallucinogenic drugs. The Jekyll and Hyde-esque experiments push the limits of Dr. Jessup’s psyche, throwing him into madness in the name of science. Screenplay writer Paddy Chayefsky was actually inspired by sensory deprivation and dolphin communication research conducted by neuroscientist and psychoanalyst John C. Lilly in the 1960s. As the film’s experiments go awry, the mind-bending and trippy story explores the themes of religion, love, and psychology. Amidst the terrifying images of religious figures, Hell, and gore is an underlying message that the way we relate to others is what makes us human.
Altered States is a psychedelic masterpiece with heady themes and hauntingly beautiful visuals. The movie features flashes of horrifying images that depict Dr. Jessup’s internalized fears and past traumas. It creates for a scary and effective unsettling watch. The visual and practical effects in this movie are stunning, dominating some of the sloppy CGI used in modern films. The movie feels like a hallucinogenic trip gone wrong, with pacing that makes the progression of madness feel real. The acting in this movie is also fantastic, with William Hurt (Dr. Jessup) giving a chilling performance. This is also Drew Barrymore’s first feature film, although she’s in the movie for less than a minute. The film is entertaining beyond the psychedelic hallucinatory visuals. It’s more than just disturbingly trippy images to scare viewers, the real horror of the film is a man becoming deranged and the way his addiction to his work is tearing apart the people who love him. The themes of the movie and depiction of psychedelic-assisted exploration of the mind feel just as relevant today as they did in the 1980s. Altered States is a one-of-a-kind hallucinatory triumph that will take you on an acid-induced horror ride through Hell and back.
Scanners (1981)
While Altered States is a fantastic example of overtly psychedelic visual effects in horror, the 1981 Canadian sci-fi horror film Scanners takes a more subtle approach to providing a trippy experience. The movie tells the story of people with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. These “scanners” can pick up the thoughts of other people, enter their minds, and mentally duel them until their heads explode. The organization ConSec uses scanners as weapons and their newest recruit, Cameron Vale, is tasked to kill Darryl Revok, a renegade scanner. The film is best known for its head-exploding scene, a practical effect that has yet to be topped. The psychedelic nature of this movie comes from director David Cronenberg’s use of experimental editing and auditory hallucinatory effects, and with it, Cronenberg is able to create a mind-bending, mind-altering experience.
This movie is iconic for a reason. With a campy concept and mind-blowing practical effects (no pun intended), this film is a mainstay in hallucinatory horror. The subtlety of the psychedelic nature of the movie makes for an effective and chilling experience. The whispering auditory effects are used to illustrate the scanners’ ability create a hauntingly striking viewing. The real hallmark of this movie is the use of special effects. Even if you’ve never seen Scanners, you probably know about the iconic head explosion scene. It’s a practical effect that has yet to be beaten and was done by filling a plaster skull with latex scraps, wax, and leftover burgers. The explosive scene (again, no pun intended) adds to the trippy feel of this movie and foreshadows the psychedelic journey the viewer will undergo. Scanners are seen as outcasts, used against each other for their own demise; however, they quickly learn they are more powerful when they come together. The movie is about 90% men staring aggressively into each other’s eyes so it’s hard not to see the homoerotic undertones. While the acting and pacing of the movie could be improved, the X-Men-esque concept and special effects make for an overall intoxicating viewing.
Videodrome (1983)
The 1983 film Videodrome is another psychedelic experience that uses physical body horror and creative editing to make viewers feel uneasy. Written and directed by David Cronenberg, this Canadian body horror film follows Max Renn, the president of a trashy TV channel, as he looks for edgy new shows to attract viewers. Renn stumbles across “Videodrome”, a hyper-violent torture and punishment show, and broadcasts the program on his channel. Enamored by the Videodrome, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into the shadow world of rightwing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and bodily transformation. As he looks for the secret origins of the program, he learns that the virtual violence may be more real than he once believed. A fascinatingly disturbing film, Videodrome is a cautionary tale of how unregulated technology and media development will evolve humans on a psychological (and biological) level.
Videodrome uses experimental editing and special effects to create a disconcerting film that touches on our human predictability. The film is about the Dark Web before the Dark Web existed. The bizarre situation of the movie is amplified by the visual effects that create an almost never-coherent story. One of the creepiest effects, the breathing television, was accomplished using an inflatable airtight rubber chamber inside the television. The film’s special effects artist Rick Baker said there was no precedent for the special effects in this movie. The acting in this movie is also successful, with James Woods playing a believable “man going insane” as the titular Max Renn. Like most Cronenberg films, the effects create a trippy experience, but the creations are just as impactful as the plot. At its core, the plot of Videodrome is a disturbing look at human fascination with sex and gore. It’s a cautionary tale of how the evolution of media will shift our psychology. This tale was ignored however and much of what is seen in the Videodrome feels tame now, considering we are seeing actual murder videos on social media almost daily. Nonetheless, Cronenberg creates an evergreen and ethereal film that examines human behavior and or inability to escape our innate nature.
The 1980s stand as the best decade for horror films. While slasher movies may have reigned supreme, the psychedelic horror movies of the 80s were some of the peaks of the subgenre. With spectacular practical effects, creative editing, and themes that reflected the social and cultural realities of the time, 80s psychedelic horror made for a trippy and mind-altering good time.